AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM vs AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive overall victory for the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE, which wins both benchmark comparisons against the AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM. The most significant margin appears in the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the RX 6600 LE scores 72,428 against the RX 5600 OEM's 53,743, a delta of 34.8%. This is a substantial gap, indicating a major advantage in Vulkan-based workloads and modern graphics API performance.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the RX 6600 LE again leads, posting a score of 69,229 compared to 62,427 for the RX 5600 OEM. This represents a 10.9% advantage, a narrower but still clear margin. The OpenCL result shows that while the RX 6600 LE is faster in compute-heavy tasks, the difference is less pronounced than in Vulkan, where the architecture's newer feature set appears to provide a larger benefit.

Looking at the broader database context, the RX 6600 LE's average benchmark score of 70,829 places it in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M, which scores 71,768 and is 1.3% ahead, and the NVIDIA RTX A3000 Mobile at 70,140, which is 1% behind. The RX 6600 LE also edges out the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 (69,986, 1.2% behind) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 (69,870, 1.4% behind). These figures indicate that the RX 6600 LE sits in a competitive performance tier, with only a narrow margin separating it from several high-end mobile and workstation options.

The RX 5600 OEM, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 58,085, placing it in the 87th percentile. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the Intel Arc A570M scores 58,239 (0.3% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT scores 58,392 (0.5% ahead), and the NVIDIA P102-100 scores 58,528 (0.8% ahead). The Intel Arc A580 trails slightly at 57,756 (0.6% behind). This clustering shows that the RX 5600 OEM is positioned in a competitive mid-range segment, but its overall performance is well below that of the RX 6600 LE.

Where Each One Wins

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE wins outright in both recorded benchmarks, so the use-case split heavily favors it. For Vulkan-based applications, the 34.8% lead is the standout result. This suggests a major advantage in modern game engines and compute APIs that leverage Vulkan's low-level overhead and multi-threading capabilities. The RX 6600 LE's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and its ray tracing cores also point to superior performance in current and upcoming titles that use these features.

For OpenCL workloads, the RX 6600 LE's 10.9% lead indicates a solid but less dramatic advantage in general-purpose GPU compute, such as video encoding, rendering, and scientific simulations. The RX 5600 OEM still holds relevance in this area, but the data shows it is clearly outclassed.

The RX 5600 OEM has no benchmark wins in this comparison, so its strengths are relative to its own tier rather than against the RX 6600 LE. Its average score of 58,085 is close to rivals like the Intel Arc A570M and the AMD Radeon RX 6950 XT, meaning it can compete with those specific products. However, against the RX 6600 LE, it falls short in every measured metric. The RX 5600 OEM's higher memory bandwidth (288.0 GB/s versus 224.0 GB/s) and wider bus (192-bit versus 128-bit) do not translate into a performance win in these tests, likely because the RX 6600 LE's higher clocks and newer architecture compensate for the bandwidth difference.

Architecture Differences

The two GPUs come from different generations of AMD's RDNA architecture. The RX 6600 LE uses RDNA 2.0 on the Navi 23 chip, while the RX 5600 OEM uses RDNA 1.0 on the Navi 10 chip. Both are fabricated on TSMC's 7 nm process, but the transistor counts differ: the RX 6600 LE has 11,060 million transistors on a 237 mm² die, giving a density of 46.7 million transistors per mm². The RX 5600 OEM has 10,300 million transistors on a larger 251 mm² die, resulting in a lower density of 41.0 million per mm². This means the RX 6600 LE packs more transistors into a smaller area, contributing to its higher efficiency.

Clock speeds are a major differentiator. The RX 6600 LE has a base clock of 1626 MHz, a boost clock of 2495 MHz, and a game clock of 2045 MHz. The RX 5600 OEM operates at a much lower 1130 MHz base, 1560 MHz boost, and 1375 MHz game clock. This clock advantage is a key reason for the RX 6600 LE's performance lead, especially in Vulkan where the gap is largest.

Memory configurations also differ. The RX 6600 LE has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The RX 5600 OEM has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, with memory at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) and a higher bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. Despite the RX 5600 OEM's bandwidth advantage, the RX 6600 LE's faster cores and larger memory capacity prove more decisive in the benchmarks.

Compute resources are mixed. The RX 6600 LE has 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, 64 raster output units, and 28 ray tracing cores. The RX 5600 OEM has more shading units at 2048, more TMUs at 128, and the same 64 ROPs, but it lacks ray tracing cores entirely. This explains the RX 6600 LE's support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and its ability to handle ray-traced workloads, while the RX 5600 OEM is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). The RX 6600 LE also delivers higher pixel and texture rates: 159.7 GPixel/s and 279.4 GTexel/s, versus 99.84 GPixel/s and 199.7 GTexel/s for the RX 5600 OEM. FP32 performance is 8.942 TFLOPS for the RX 6600 LE against 6.390 TFLOPS for the RX 5600 OEM, a 40% advantage.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE is the superior product in every measured benchmark. It wins both OpenCL and Vulkan tests, with a combined average score of 70,829 versus 58,085, a margin of roughly 22%. The RX 6600 LE also holds a higher percentile ranking (91st versus 87th), placing it in a stronger position relative to all GPUs in the database.

For users prioritizing modern gaming and compute workloads, the RX 6600 LE is the clear choice. Its RDNA 2.0 architecture brings ray tracing support, DirectX 12 Ultimate compatibility, and significantly higher clock speeds. The 34.8% Vulkan advantage is particularly compelling for titles built on Vulkan or for users who rely on Vulkan-based emulation and compute tasks.

The RX 5600 OEM, while not a poor performer in its own tier, is simply outmatched here. Its higher memory bandwidth and wider bus do not compensate for the RX 6600 LE's architectural and clock advantages. The RX 5600 OEM's end-of-life production status and lack of ray tracing cores further limit its long-term relevance. However, for users with legacy software that does not benefit from newer APIs, the RX 5600 OEM's 6 GB memory and 192-bit bus might still suffice, but the benchmark data does not support choosing it over the RX 6600 LE in any tested scenario.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Vulkan performance?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE wins decisively, scoring 72,428 against the RX 5600 OEM's 53,743, a 34.8% advantage.

Q: What is the difference in average benchmark scores?

A: The RX 6600 LE has an average score of 70,829, while the RX 5600 OEM averages 58,085. The RX 6600 LE is approximately 22% higher.

Q: Does the RX 5600 OEM support ray tracing?

A: No, the RX 5600 OEM has no ray tracing cores and supports only DirectX 12 (12_1). The RX 6600 LE includes 28 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Q: How do the memory bandwidths compare?

A: The RX 5600 OEM has higher bandwidth at 288.0 GB/s over a 192-bit bus, while the RX 6600 LE has 224.0 GB/s over a 128-bit bus. Despite this, the RX 6600 LE wins all benchmarks.

Q: Which GPU has a higher boost clock?

A: The RX 6600 LE boosts to 2495 MHz, while the RX 5600 OEM boosts to 1560 MHz. The RX 6600 LE also has a higher base clock at 1626 MHz versus 1130 MHz.

Q: What is the production status of each GPU?

A: The RX 6600 LE is listed as Active, while the RX 5600 OEM is End-of-life.

Specification Differences

| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 6600 LE | AMD Radeon RX 5600 OEM |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Architecture | RDNA 2.0 | RDNA 1.0 |

| Chip | Navi 23 | Navi 10 |

| Transistors | 11,060 million | 10,300 million |

| Die Size | 237 mm² | 251 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 46.7M / mm² | 41.0M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1626 MHz | 1130 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2495 MHz | 1560 MHz |

| Game Clock | 2045 MHz | 1375 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) | 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective) |

| Memory Size | 8 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 224.0 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1792 | 2048 |

| TMUs | 112 | 128 |

| ROPs | 64 | 64 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | 28 | None |

| Pixel Rate | 159.7 GPixel/s | 99.84 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 279.4 GTexel/s | 199.7 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 8.942 TFLOPS | 6.390 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 17.88 TFLOPS (2:1) | 12.78 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 132 W | 125 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x16 |

| DirectX Support | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Release Date | 2023-12-07 | 2020-01-20 |